Long Live
by ravenclawslibrary
Summary: A series of one shots following Klaus and Caroline through their respective eternities. Because forever is an awfully long time.
1. Shadows

**Title**: Long Live

**Disclaimer**: Anything TVD or TO related belongs to the CW

_**A/N: So this is basically going to be a compilation of any and every oneshot I've ever thought up regarding Klaus and Caroline after both TVD and TO ends. They're endgame, and even if we don't get them in canon, we all know that 100 years down the road they're going to be living out their happily ever after. So here are some ways I'd like to see that happen.** _

* * *

_When the days are cold, and the cards all fold, and the saints we see are all made of gold._

_When your dreams all fail, and the ones we hail are the worst of all, and the blood's run stale._

* * *

The first time she noticed her silent shadow, it had been at a concert in California. The desert had been packed with young people of all shapes and sizes, and the crowd had stretched on for what seemed like miles.

The eclectic group of party goers were decked out in neon, beads, and flower wreaths, each body running right into the next. It all mixed together in a haze of alcohol, smoke, and bare skin.

It should have made it impossible to spot anyone, let alone track them, but somehow Caroline felt that tingling sensation that made her blood pump faster and her skin start to crawl. The feeling of being watched.

She ran through the catalog of people she'd wronged in the past ten years since becoming a vampire, her mind immediately put on the defensive. She came up empty though, no one angry or hurt enough to track her all the way out here.

She'd made it a point to avoid making enemies at her young age. Vendettas and schemes were the pastimes of older vampires, not newbies like her.

Next came the list of people who might be scoping her out for friendlier reasons. This list was also unhelpful.

Damon and Elena were living their happily ever after in Rio.

Stefan was on some journey of self-discovery with Tyler of all people. They were in East Asia last time she'd checked.

Matt and Bonnie had each settled down in Virginia, happy to build families and make babies in peace.

The Mystic Falls crew was officially off her radar.

There had been a few memorable one night stands over the years for Caroline, but no one serious enough to come after her now.

That left her with one final and slightly terrifying option: A complete stranger was stalking her through a very packed and drugged up crowd for unknown reasons. Yeah this never ended well for the pretty blondes in the movies.

Then again, the those blondes didn't have fangs and an appetite for blood so…

Pulling on her big girl panties, Caroline danced herself over to the nearest stage, slipping behind one of the fenced in areas with a bit of compulsion to help her along. If this confrontation was going to happen, it needed to be in a closed off area where there was no chance of someone snapping a quick shot of her vamping out on an unsuspecting stranger.

Her stalker took the bait, and Caroline pounced on him the second he turned the corner, hand around his neck and fangs bared.

He hissed right back at her, throwing her off him and pinning her to the ground.

Well then, her shadow was a vampire. An old one if his strength was any indication.

That was new.

He seemed to pull himself together quickly, letting her go the moment he realized he was hurting her. He offered his hand to help her up off the sand, but she ignored it, righting herself and shaking the dust out of her hair.

"Who the hell are you?" She fumed.

"I'm no one, I shouldn't even be back here." He answered in a vaguely Irish drawl, turning his back to walk away.

She flashed in front of him, blocking his path but keeping her hands to herself. She was not in the mood to end up with her ass in the dirt again.

"Nice try." She mocked him, "You were following me. Why?"

He tried to dart around her, but she managed to keep him in place. His frustrated expression was nearly comical, but it disappeared quickly when his phone rang. Then it became a mix of nervousness and terror. It seemed like whoever was on the other end of the line was not someone he wanted to talk to.

The vampire reached into his back pocket, and Caroline took her chance. A lightning fast twist and _snap! _one broken neck if you please. He slumped to the ground, phone in hand.

It continued to ring though, so she snatched it up, peering down at the screen.

_'Klaus calling'_ glowed back up at her.

Caroline nearly screamed she was so angry. After ten years of nothing, he decided to send some idiot to follow her around like a lost puppy in hopes of what? Keeping tabs on her?

She vindictively crushed the phone under her heel before dragging the vampire's body toward the nearest cluster of speakers. She could only hope no one found him before he woke up or he'd have some serious explaining to do when he came to in the morgue.

If she hadn't taken one last look at the guy before rolling him over, she would have been Scot free. Annoyed, but no worse for the wear.

Unfortunately the light caught him just the wrong way, revealing a tattoo down his neck, and she suddenly realized that this guy wasn't a total stranger. She'd seen him last year in Hawaii when she'd been soaking up sun rays on the beaches of Honolulu. She'd suspected he looked familiar but hadn't been able to place him. Now the dots were coming together. She'd recognized him back then from that hellish ten hour plane ride she'd been on from Australia.

Three years ago.

_Son of a bitch._

How long had Klaus had this guy tailing her? Three years? Four? She didn't even want to think about the possibility that he'd been her silent shadow for the past ten years without her knowing. That would be too creepy.

With the phone crushed though, she had no way of calling the hybrid bastard to give him a good verbal bitch slapping. She'd have to settle for getting the hell out of here and leaving this guy in the dust.

The band's final set wasn't even through by the time she was tearing back to Los Angeles in a stolen car. LAX seemed like a great place to get lost.

* * *

Caroline didn't catch sight of another tail until four years later.

She wasn't sure if Klaus was giving her space to lull her into a false sense of security, or if she was just too blind to spot it before, but there she was.

The posh winery in the south of France was a Mecca for older couples looking to get away, which is probably why her new shadow stuck out like a sore thumb.

Some skinny college girl, totally ordinary and wrapped up in the book she was toting around. An adorable, plucky brunette that would look to anyone else like she was just enjoying a semester abroad.

But Caroline was getting better at spotting the differences between human and vampire.

Vampires moved too confidently. Like the world was at their feet. They brushed past the humans with all the air of a lion stalking prey. Silent and calculating, waiting for the perfect moment to rip into flesh. So while this girl tried to give off the air of the dorky tourist, it didn't stop her from looking at the servers like she wanted to spill their jugulars out into her next glass of Pinot.

The girl's eyes flickered up to Caroline, checking to make sure she was still in the same spot, and that was all the evidence Caroline needed.

It occurred to her that she could walk right over to the woman and politely ask for her phone so she could speak to Klaus.

She tossed the idea out almost immediately. This needed a firm hand.

Making her way to the bathrooms, Caroline pulled out the thermos of B positive that she kept on her at all times. The key to being a good little vampire was staying hydrated at all times, Caroline had figured out. So the emergency thermos traveled with her everywhere.

She made quick work of pouring the bloody contents out all over the bathroom tile, and then waited by the door. Here's hoping her new travel buddy was as hungry as she looked.

It was less than a minute before the other vampire came tearing in, searching out the smell of two pints of fresh blood.

Just like the last time, her stalker's neck was quickly snapped, and the body dragged into a stall. Caroline made quick work of cleaning the spilled blood, collecting a bit extra for a very special message.

She strolled through the winery and right out of France that very afternoon.

The French police would later report the strange case of a missing body from the murder that occurred at _Le Minervois_ vineyard. The only clues in the case were the words scrawled in blood on the girl's white shirt.

_Bite me._

* * *

The final time Caroline felt the familiar tingle at the base of her neck, it was ten times more powerful.

It hadn't even been a year since the winery incident and he was back at it.

Whoever was watching her now had practically hung a Do Not Disturb sign around them from the deadly aura that seemed to lurk in every corner. Even if she couldn't see them, the last thing she wanted was to pick a fight with this new watchdog, she was sure of that.

The pounding dance music and the flashing lights should have made it easy to elude whatever new henchman Klaus had sent after her, but this one was proving hard to shake.

Her new shadow had trailed her through three nightclubs and eight jam-packed blocks of Shanghai already.

At the fourth club, she finally caught a glimpse of exactly whom she was dealing with. A frustrated groan escaped her when she spotted a flash of blue eyes and dimples through the throng of dancing bodies.

Klaus.

Apparently he'd decided to come to her himself this time.

Good. She needed an opportunity slap him right in his stupid face for minion stalking her anyway. She sauntered up to the table he was occupying, making sure that every _clomp_ of her high heels conveyed just how pissed off she was.

Three years as cheer captain had taught her how to walk with murder in her eyes.

"Good evening." He smiled up at her, arms stretching out to cover the leather seating of his booth.

Caroline just narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. The picture of righteous anger.

"Join me for a drink?" He asked. A colorful martini glass was pushed towards her and she recognized the cocktail she'd been imbibing all night. _Stalker._

She grabbed the glass, knocking back the whole thing in two big glugs.

"That was great, let's do it again in another fifteen years." She said wiping an escaped drop from her lip and slamming the glass back down.

She made to saunter off, but his amused laugh pulled her back. He was looking at her, the girl who had so spitefully rejected him time and again, like she was the most adorable thing on the planet.

How dare he.

"I do wish you'd sit down for a proper drink." He said, swirling what she'd assumed to be red wine around his glass. Now she had the distinct impression it was anything but alcohol. "I'm in strangely low spirits tonight, and you know what tends to happen when I'm feeling glum."

His eyes scanned the bar, and she could see he was already hunting for a victim. She knew exactly what happened when he was _in a mood_. People tended to lose their jugulars.

"I'd hate for someone to get hurt." He added on, smirk in place.

After a very deep frown, she slid into the booth, careful to keep at least two seats of distance between them.

"It's just like old times," Caroline grumbled, "You manipulating me into spending time with you, me needing booze to deal with your company."

"Well there would be no manipulation necessary if you'd stop snapping my friends necks."

There it was. He actually admitted that he'd had people following her.

"Your _friends_ were following me across the continents. You do realize how creepy you are right?"

Klaus chuckled softly. "Is it so awful that I want to make sure you're looked after on you worldly travels?"

"I can look after myself."

"Clearly. You left Brigitte in a bit of a legal bind back in France, you know. You'll have to tell me how you managed to outwit a vampire four centuries older than you, love."

He actually managed to sound impressed that she'd left his minion to wake up in the middle of her own crime scene. Figures.

She didn't answer, instead opting to keep them in uncomfortable silence.

He signaled the waiter for another drink, and before she could refuse a second martini was set down in front of her. She barely sipped at this one, though. She was already three sheets to the wind before he showed up, and dealing with Klaus while drunk didn't seem like the best option for her.

"So," Klaus broke their silence, "Tell me about your travels. I always knew you'd see the world someday, but your destinations were something of a surprise to me."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'll pass on the recap."

He looked genuinely disappointed.

"I was rather hoping to hear your impressions of all the places you'd been. I've only ever heard the second hand accounts of your travels."

"The fact that you can so casually talk about having me stalked, speaks volumes about how twisted you really are."

A devilish grin broke out on his face. "Would you have me any other way?"

And that was the kicker. She really wouldn't. No matter how pissed off she was, this back and forth between them was strangely comforting. In a world full of strange people and places, this right here with him was gloriously familiar. A breath of fresh air really. She loved seeing the world, she truly did, but the small town girl in her would always miss her home.

And right now, Klaus' unapologetic irritation was a warm reminder of life in Mystic Falls.

Maybe that's why she found herself settling into the booth and caving in to his questions. She gave him all of her stories. She told him about her journey across the states, taking in the clubs of New York and the mountains of Colorado. She raved about the food in Texas and the music in Tennessee. She told him how she'd stood over the Grand Canyon for hours, just soaking it all in. Europe was the obvious choice after seeing so much of her home country, so predictably she had hopped on a plane to the outback of Australia. There was something in her that craved the wild and the wilderness, so she decided to stay, happily exploring the land of hot weather and hotter accents.

Europe came eventually, and she toured the oldest and most beautiful cities in the world. The culture and pretentiousness had eventually bored her though, so she'd headed East, desperate for the kind of reckless excitement that only Asia could offer.

What she didn't tell him was that the Northern Lights had made her feel terribly small.

Or that the wind off the Mediterranean had chilled her to the bone.

She didn't tell him that the spices in the Hong Kong air hadn't teased her senses like they were supposed to, or the heat of the California sun had been to jarring to stand.

She would never admit that she had learned one sad truth on her travels.

The world was a lonely place.

She didn't feel lonely now though, tucked into a booth with the one man she swore she'd never speak to again, passing away the hours like they were old friends. It was that thought which made her realize it _had_ been hours. Hours on hours. Midnight had come and gone, drinks had been poured and devoured, but here they sat, the music still pulsing and the night raging on.

"I envy you your adventures, Caroline." Klaus admitted, his breath gusting out of her shoulder.

When had they gotten so close? Hadn't there been plenty of space between them just minutes ago? Now her legs were crossed towards him and their hips brushed under the table if one of them leaned just right.

"You envy _me_?" Caroline laughed. "Can I get that in writing somewhere?"

"I'm serious." Klaus chuckled. "To see it all for the first time, it's a journey I wish I could live again. The beauty of it all is still so young and new for you. Untouched and exciting."

The slightest brush of fingers against her thigh accompanied his words. Later she'd blame it on the countless number of martinis, but the touch electrified every nerve in her body. A heat that hadn't been there before ignited between them in that moment.

Caroline did her best to ignore it. "It's been an eye-opening experience, that's for sure. You were right when you said I should see it all."

"Now I want _that _in writing. Caroline Forbes admits that I was right." A lazy grin split across his lips and she couldn't help but return it. "Though if I recall correctly, and I always do, I offered to take you with me, not be left in the cold as you went to see it all on your own."

That reminder puts her on edge.

'_There's a whole world out there waiting for you.'_

'_All I can think about is how much I want to show it to you. Maybe one day you'll let me.'_

His hand was still skating back and forth across the top of her thigh, dancing dangerously close to the border of her dress. Lord help her, but it had been so long since she'd enjoyed the simple touch of a man. So she let him touch.

"Well, maybe I wasn't ready for a traveling companion." She said, no longer joking with him.

"And now?" He questioned. "Are you ready for a companion after all these years on your own?"

His hand traveled just a few inches higher, going back and forth over the hem of fabric that separated a flirtatious touch from one of intention. She couldn't help but clench her legs together at the sensation. He was too close and she was too hot, and the whole night seemed to be heading towards the train wreck that was Klaus Mikaelson.

It could have been the vodka or just the feel of his skin on hers that was making her dizzy, but she slid her legs apart just the smallest bit to allow that touch. His eyes fluttered for a moment, and he took a deep breath, no doubt able to smell the arousal that was coming off of her in waves.

His other hand curled in her hair, and she tilted her head back embracing his fingers tangling in her curls.

He took her unspoken surrender as an invitation to lean forward and skim his lips across her neck, and the fire spread to every inch of skin he touched. Then it spread further down.

A soft nip on the slope where he shoulder met her neck pulled a gasp from her lips. Her hand fisted in the material of his shirt, and she honestly wasn't sure whether she was about to urge him on or push him away.

Klaus decided for her by slipping the hand that had been toying with her dress right under it to press against her hot core. She raised her hips to meet him, pulling him closer by the shirt she had clenched in her fingers.

The halfway lucid part of Caroline took a minute to realize that they were in the middle of a packed nightclub, surrounded by people and probably a camera or two. But the sinful side of her reasoned that no one could see what was going on under the table. That Klaus could get her off right here in this booth with no one the wiser.

It didn't stop her from sparing a nervous glance around to see if they had in fact drawn any attention.

Klaus could not have timed the next suck on her neck better, or the soft pressure he placed against her clit. She moaned, breathless, fruitlessly trying to search the crowd for scandalized faces. He pulled away, noticing her split attention, and smirked a very contented smirk.

"Would you like me to stop, Caroline?" He asked innocently, but with a deft flick of his fingers he was under the lace of her panties and running a finger through he drenched folds.

Her mouth fell open, and she pressed her face against his neck, hiding her very obvious ecstasy from the other club goers.

"Or does the thought of letting me touch you out here in the open excite you?" Every word dripped perfectly off his lips, his mouth brushing against the shell of her ear.

She could only pant heavily as his slick fingers sought out the small bundle of nerves above her entrance again, circling it slowly.

"Does the possibility that one of these people could look over at any moment," He exerted the smallest bit of pressure, building a rhythm now, "That one of them could spot my hand working under your skirt," She whimpered slightly, and her hips started to slowly rock, "Does it only make you more eager? Make you want it more?"

His voice in her ear and his hand between her thighs was doing such wonderful things to her. He was trying to build her up slowly but it was all starting to snowball in a haze of pleasure.

And all too suddenly, it stopped. He pulled his hand away, depriving her of the euphoric sensation she was becoming addicted to.

She made a small sound of protest, trying to lift her hips into his touch again.

"So what will it be, Caroline?" He nudged her face out from the shoulder that she'd buried it in. "Shall I stop?"

She stared into his eyes for a long moment and then watched them sweep down to search her face. She was probably the picture of ravished glory, his hand still in her tousled hair and her body reeking of sex. Whatever he saw made his eyes darken, so she was fairly certain she still wore the profoundly turned on expression she'd been sporting since he'd first put his hands on her.

"Caroline." He whispered and she could barely hear him over the pounding music. He was close to breaking though, that much was obvious.

"Please," She sighed, "Just touch me."

He was back on her in full force, lips on her neck, hand tugging at her curls and fingers pressed closely against her opening. He didn't wait another moment, pushing one finger inside her, muffling her pleasured moan with one of his own.

She was teetering on the edge already, barely keeping herself from bucking against his hand. That kind of reckless abandon would surely draw a few eyes. When he drew back and sunk a second finger in up to the knuckle, she bit out a soft curse, her free hand tearing into the leather next to her.

Klaus groaned as her walls started to flutter around his fingers. She was so goddamn close, she just needed more.

The hybrid was happy to oblige and pressed the heel of his palm against her, rubbing against her with every thrust of his fingers.

She had to hold in a scream at the extra stimulation. She was seconds from release. His heavy breathing her ear, coupled with Klaus' soft words of encouragement, was tearing her apart. She wanted him inside her, his hands, his body, his breath, every part of him. Not even fighting her natural instincts, she let her fangs slide down and sunk them quickly into his bared shoulder.

"Fuck, Caroline." He bit out, his hand picking up speed.

The taste of blood filling her mouth was nearly as amazing as the rapture she felt as he pushed a third finger into her.

She keened through the feeding, her legs clenching tight around his hand as the waves of pleasure finally crested over her. She rode them out over and over, until his hand stilled inside her, waiting for the pulsing and shaking to crawl to a stop.

She removed her fangs, letting the darkness seep back out of her eyes, returning them to their normal baby blue. When she leaned back from him, he still wore that intense look, brow creased and jaw locked. He lifted that hand that had previously been giving her so much pleasure, and swiped it across her bottom lip, gathering the blood she'd missed on his thumb.

She grabbed his wrist and slipped that thumb into her mouth, sucking off the unique taste of her juices mixed with his blood. He swallowed hard, every muscle in his body tense and waiting to pounce.

He held himself back though, he always would. This dance of theirs had one major rule. She was in charge.

Caroline considered leaving him then. Just scooting out of the booth and walking off into the night. He wouldn't follow. Not after that. She could sail off into the sunset, pretending to still be a good little girl.

But who the hell was going to judge her if she didn't?

None of her friends were here to condemn her or shun her for this choice. And the wonderful thing about being a vampire anyway was that time really did heal all wounds. A couple of decades meant fights were forgotten and enemies were allies.

So Caroline let her hand drift from his wrist to the necklaces he still wore draped around him. She fingered the longest one, pulling him slightly towards her with it.

"Take me home, Klaus."

* * *

She was up well after the sun peeked through the white gauzy curtains. Wherever Klaus was staying, it was the nicest hotel she'd visited in years, and that was saying something. It figured that he would be able to find the hidden gems in a city that was chalk full of generic tourist traps.

The hope that he was at least half as worn out as her was the only thing that gave her the confidence to ease out of bed.

She immediately crashed into the mini-bar, and nervously looked back at her bedfellow, sure she was going be caught. Klaus remained lying on his stomach though, snoring into a pillow.

Caroline tiptoed around the room, collecting her dress and heals, then slipping into them for her walk of shame across town. A quick check in the mirror ensured that there were no lingering bite marks or blood staining her skin, so she wouldn't draw too much unnecessary attention.

The door clicked shut behind her after one last glance towards the sleeping hybrid.

So maybe she wasn't ready for a companion just yet. But Caroline knew the next time she ran into her shadow, she wouldn't be the one to run.

* * *

_Your eyes, they shine so bright, I wanna save that light_,

_ I can't escape this now, unless you show me how_.

* * *

_**For everyone's piece of mind, please know that I'm not abandoning Sinners Like Us, this just popped into my head. You'll get your regular Monday updates.** _

**_Leave a review if you please!_**


	2. Promise

**Title**: Promise

**Disclaimer**: Anything TO or TVD related belongs to the CW

_**A/N: Basically, Caroline is a hardcore Kalijah shipper. She will go the distance for her ship! Find me on tumblr as ravenclawslibrary and shoot me a prompt for this series. I love to hear your Klaroline endgame theories!**_

* * *

_I never knew how much you'd want to live again with innocence,_  
_Like the good old days, our glory years when you still were here_

* * *

"I'm just not really in the mood for Spain, you know? Maybe in a few weeks?"

Klaus tried not to be suspicious, he really did. But you just can't fight your nature.

Not once in the past eighty years had Caroline _not been in the mood for Spain_. Barcelona was her playground, Madrid was her classroom, the beaches of the Mediterranean were her escape. Each and every time he planned a trip to Europe, Caroline demanded they stop through Spain first. They usually ended up staying a week or two after that, and it got to the point where Klaus had to purchase several homes in the country just so they would have a place to crash.

So when he'd brought up the topic of escaping to one of said homes for a month or two, he'd expected his girl to be packed and ready to go before he could even book the tickets.

Instead, he got this.

Klaus had come a long way in the decades he'd been with Caroline. He'd tamped down his rage issues and even a few of his more violent tendencies. He still drank like a fish - blood and alcohol - but after a thousand years, there were just some habits that would not be broken. And one of those traits that refused to completely leave him was his paranoia. The fact that there was constantly someone plotting against him didn't help the matter either.

The right thing to do would be to confront Caroline about this head on. If there was a reason she didn't want to skip town with him, he should be the first to hear it.

But Klaus had never really been all that good at the right thing.

So instead he spent the next few days searching through her drawers, her desk, even her car. Finding no evidence, he kicked it up a notch, having a few faithfully compelled vampires check in on her every now and then and report back. Their reports turned out to be disappointingly dull, so he sunk to the one level he thought he'd never reach.

He checked her credit card statements. Her emails. Her phone records.

And what should he find but a startlingly number of calls made to their house in the south of Spain. He couldn't imagine who would have the gall to stay in his house uninvited, but perhaps Caroline had given permission to this mystery guest? But why on earth would she feel the need to keep that a secret from him?

It wasn't until the next morning that the pieces all came together.

The shrill ringing of Caroline's cell phone interrupted her morning routine in the bathroom, and when Klaus recognized the number he decided enough was enough.

He flashed out of the room, staying just on the other side of the door.

After a quick scuffle that could no doubt be Caroline searching around their room, he heard the radio turning on to mask the call. If he'd been anywhere else in the house, he might have missed the fact that she was on the phone at all.

"What are you still doing in my house?" Her angry voice carried just over the sound of the speakers. "I told you that Klaus and I would be heading out there soon. Elijah needs to put a continent between you and Spain before then."

"Oh, calm down Carebear," Klaus heard a familiar dulcet voice on the other end of the line. "I've been running from that maniac for centuries, I know what I'm doing."

Katerina.

The pulsing desire for vengeance flooded through him, and he was seconds from storming right into that room to rip the phone out of Caroline's hand. He could be at that villa in less than twelve hours, Katerina's blood dripping from his fingers in twelve and a half.

The more rational side of him, the one that Caroline had spent years fostering, told him to wait.

"_Please_, you'd have been dead in the water if I hadn't warned you about Poland. It's not my responsibility to keep you alive, Katherine." Caroline hissed at the other girl.

"But you love Elijah too much to do anything else." Katherine giggled mockingly. "It's kind of pathetic how far you're willing to go to keep Klaus and his brother on good terms."

Klaus clenched his fists, trying his hardest to keep the rage from boiling over. This was no quick warning that Caroline had sent off. She'd been helping Katerina escape him for decades if this latest news was any indication. He couldn't decide whom he was angrier with; Elijah for pursuing this illicit affair again, or Caroline for covering it up.

"Why did you call me? What do you want?" Caroline sighed, and a loud fluffing sound told him that she'd thrown herself on the bed in frustration.

"Elijah asked me to tell you that we're heading to New York tomorrow night. If you're smart, you'll fly through Miami when you head out here."

"Noted." Caroline bit out. The small clicking sound that came after signaled that she'd hung up.

Klaus debated what to do with this new information. The part of him that was screaming to hop on the next flight to JFK and lay in wait for his prey was winning at the moment. But a smaller part of him, the wounded part, was crying for Caroline's blood too. The woman he trusted more than anyone else on the planet had just proved herself deceitful. She'd lulled him into a false sense of security and now the rug was ripped right out from under him.

The tug-of-war continued until Caroline stepped out in the hall, ending the battle of wills for good. It seemed she would be getting the brunt of his wrath today instead of Elijah and Katerina.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she caught sight of him, and a look of dread crossed her features.

"Hey, I-um… I thought you left?" She mumbled out, nervously wringing her hands.

"I didn't." His voice was practically a growl.

"Well… I was going to head to that café down the street for breakfast. Want to come with?" She gave him the fakest smile he could imagine. It made him sick.

"So the deception continues then?" Klaus asked. "Or are we going to pretend I didn't just overhear that little conversation with Katerina?"

Her eyes widened and she took a step back from him. He noticed proudly that she didn't immediately start searching for exits. Caroline was far too stubborn to run from him, but she would never give him the fear he craved. That didn't mean she wasn't positively reeking with guilt.

"Let me explain."

"Oh, I think I've got it all figured out on my own actually." Klaus circled her. "Elijah has been dabbling with that pathetic peasant girl again. You know, he does this every few centuries, and every time I catch them. He'll apologize profusely and help her run. We'll have our usual quarrel and maybe he'll spend a few dozen years in a box. And then the whole cycle begins again. But you? I never expected you to play along with it."

Caroline stared at her shoes, refusing to meet his eye as he ranted.

"So tell me Caroline, was it some redeeming quality you found in her, or did Katerina blackmail you into helping?" She opens her mouth to speak, but he cuts her off, "No, I know, it was all for the love of Elijah. Am I right? Did you do it all for his happiness?"

Caroline snorted at that, and he couldn't help but feel slighted. She wasn't supposed to find any of this funny. She was supposed to be scared for her life.

"Are you done?" Caroline pursed her lips, fed up with his raving.

He shrugged, gesturing for her to start making her excuses, but all she did was walk straight past him. Not a word came out of her as she packed up her purse and keys, strolling out the door like it was any other day. She was honestly behaving like she'd done nothing wrong.

"Don't walk away from me!" He shouted.

"I'm not walking away," She yelled back, "I'm waiting for an apology, you asshole!"

Klaus stopped halfway down their front steps, frowning deeply. "_I'm _supposed to apologize. You must be mad, you're the one who's in congress with my sworn enemy."

Caroline rolls her eyes, "In congress? Sworn enemy? God, you are so pretentious! Your feelings are hurt because I lied to you a few times to keep you from making the biggest mistake of your life. Get over it."

She stood there on their front steps, hip cocked to the side and blonde curls shining in the sun. Her attitude should have had him seething, but instead he found himself taking a completely inappropriate moment to appreciate how fantastically he'd chosen the love of his life. This woman stood her ground and screamed right back at him in his foulest temper.

Perfection.

It didn't stop him from wanting to rip her glorious little throat out though. He barreled down the rest of the steps in an instant, getting as close to her as he dared in this kind of temper. Which equated to a couple of inches. He towered over her, one step above her making all the difference. If she minded the invasion of personal space, she didn't show it.

"And what mistake is that?" He asked. "Ending the miserable existence of Katerina Petrova?"

"No!" She yelled, finally snapping. "Ruining your relationship with your brother forever! In case you hadn't noticed, you're in kind of short supply with those!"

That hurt. Caroline never brought up Kol or Finn. She knew that their deaths hit him like a bucket of ice water every time he lingered on thoughts of them. She usually did her best to distract him when he stumbled on reminders.

This time though, she was not pulling punches.

"Do you honestly think Elijah and Katherine are soul mates or something?" She asked.

"Of course not." He scoffed at the ridiculous notion. The day Katerina Petrova was anyone's soul mate would be a cold day in hell.

"Then why the hell do you think they keep going back to each other? For kicks?" She was screaming at him like he was missing the most obvious point in the world, but he still couldn't figure it out.

His confused expression gave him away, and she started talking soft and slow like one addressed a two-year-old.

"It's. Forbidden. Fruit. You dumbass." Caroline could not sound more condescending if she tried. "You don't _allow_ them to be together, so of course they bounce back to each other like magnets. Do you know one vampire that doesn't absolutely love breaking the rules?"

He swallowed slowly, trying to process this new information. He'd always thought that Elijah had just been rebelling against him, trying to ruffle his feathers. Katerina, of course, took any opportunity to piss him off, so he'd figured this was no different.

But what if Caroline was right?

What if all this time the only reason the two tragic lovers had kept reuniting was because he had expressly forbid it?

Caroline sighed, taking pity on his flummoxed mind. She stepped up to his level, running a calming caress across his face.

"She's his epic love. If you kill her, Elijah will never forgive you for taking away their 'someday'. He'll treat her like a martyr, and you'll never get back to a good place with him. Not in a thousand years."

Klaus turned away from the hand stroking his face, not wanting to listen to another word of this romantic drivel. And not because she was right. _Ab_s_olutely not. _

"I don't want to see you lose the one brother you have left because you weren't able to let one raging bitch off the hook."

Caroline's voice is soft and sympathetic, but he still refuses to look at her. She just grabbed his chin firmly, turning his face back so that he'd look her in the eye.

"Did you ever think, that if you just let them be, maybe they'd fall apart on their own? He's a pompous ass, and she's literally the devil incarnate. How long can they last once they don't have the Romeo and Juliet thing going for them?"

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. He didn't have one. The idea was a compelling one. Certainly more palatable than the thought that Elijah and Katerina were 'meant to be'. That would absolutely induce his gag reflex.

Caroline turned to leave, obviously thinking she was getting nowhere with him. He grabbed her arm pulling her back.

"If I let them go, you'll cut off all contact with Katherine?" Klaus left no room for argument in his question.

"God yes, the less I have to talk to that woman the better." Caroline answered.

He took a long moment, grinding his teeth and fighting his instinct to just hunt the bitch down. It's a 600-year-old habit. It will take some time.

Ultimately, he decided that a happy Caroline was more favorable than a surly Elijah, and nodded his head once. The explosive smile that Caroline gave him was more than worth it. Perhaps he'll change his mind in a year or a century. But for now, Caroline had no more reason to sneak around behind his back, and he had no more reason to doubt her. That was good enough for him.

* * *

The next morning, he had a bottle of Cristal delivered to the Mediterranean house, with a handwritten note.

_You have my blessing. Burn the sheets when you leave._

_-Klaus_

It wasn't exactly poetry, but it got the point across.

He spent the entirety of the next week making love to Caroline in the most romantic and brutal ways imaginable. He worshiped her like the queen she was, and then punished her for every lie in between. Mostly though, he tried not to wonder if she'd somehow conned him into letting his brother ride off into the sunset with the woman he hated most on the planet.

* * *

**Go check out Sinners Like Us if you're looking for a more plot-heavy Klaroline fic. Things are about to get crazy in NOLA.**

**And leave a review if you've got the time! **


	3. Ghosts

**Title**: Ghosts

**Disclaimer**: Anything TO or TVD related belongs to the CW

_**A/N: This was an idea that popped into my head when desi2747 suggested that maybe Caroline should die in the finale. I then wrote this and wouldn't you know, Tyler/Caroline/Stefan had the thing in 5x21. So I changed it up a bit to work out as if Caroline had died instead. Of course no one could keep that kind of news a secret from our favorite hybrid! **_

* * *

_Under the weight of belief, you shiver and shake like a leaf  
__But death is a force, not a man on a horse_

* * *

The news had come at the most inopportune time.

Here he was finally getting his city under control, and the Mystic Idiots had to go and ruin it for him. The moonlight rings were nearly ready, Mikael was about to be sucked into oblivion, and Marcel's army was currently getting their asses handed to them at the compound. Life was supposed to be good.

Then one phone call had ruined it all. The first time he spoke with Bonnie, it had been to confirm that Mikael was in fact haunting them of his own volition and not some silly spell. The vindictive bastard just couldn't let sleeping dogs lie and had decided to torture them as the Other Side faded into nothingness. The second call had been to confirm that there was no way for him to slip back into the land of the living.

Davina had been telling some interesting tales and Klaus was not about to let his father manipulate his way back into their lives. He'd spent 1000 years trying to kill that man, he wasn't about to spend 1000 more doing it again. But there had been something in Bonnie's tone that had been off on that second call. It wasn't irritation like the last time.

It was hopelessness.

At first she'd passed it off as depression over her own inevitable death, but Bonnie Bennett was a fighter. She wouldn't get weepy over a death sentence; those were handed out daily in Mystic Falls. So he pushed. And he pushed. And finally after a thinly veiled threat to Abby Bennett, Bonnie had broken down and told him the news he had hoped never to hear.

Caroline Forbes was dead.

Killed by that ingrate of an ex-boyfriend of hers.

Well not technically, since he'd been possessed by a murderous witch, but still. Tyler's hand had been the one to sink into Caroline's chest cavity and pull out the beating ray of light that had surely encompassed her heart. And he would die for it. One day Klaus would track the boy down and exact vengeance for whatever part Tyler had played in Caroline's death. He was supposed to be bloody in love with her. He was supposed to fight off any compulsion or manipulation that could ever threaten the woman he loved.

A roar tore through the witches' greenhouse as he destroyed everything in it. Anything his sight touched had to be obliterated. How dare the windows let moonlight filter through them. How dare the wind chimes tinkle softly with music. How dare the roses bloom with life when Caroline could not.

She was dead. She was gone.

His beautiful Caroline, extinguished before she'd even begun to live. She would never see Rome or Paris or Tokyo. She would never taste the exotic foods of the Middle East or lounge on the beaches of the Mediterranean. He'd planned it all for her you know. The sights they would see, and the life they would live. When she was ready. She was supposed to have eternity. And she'd never even stepped foot outside that deathtrap of a town. All he could picture was her grey skinned corpse, rotting somewhere miles away. The gaping hole in her chest would be nothing in comparison to the dried out husk of her flesh, no longer radiating warmth and light. No smile on her lips or sparkle in her eyes. Just death. And in that death was his misery.

He could tell Davina was terrified, but her loyalty to her friend kept her rooted to the spot. He considered ripping her throat out, just to feel the blood coursing down his chin, but even that prospect brought Caroline's disapproving frown to his mind.

"B-bad news?" Davina stuttered quietly, the normally brave girl cowed at his unquenchable rage. A rumble deep in his chest was her only answer, but she pushed on. "I told you everything I knew about Mikael, and we had a deal. Now give Josh your blood."

"To save his life." Klaus chuckled darkly. "Life. A fragile thing, even for a vampire. Snuffed out from a thousand miles away. Nothing you can do about it. Not really."

Davina swallowed, confused as she tried to interpret his madness. Good luck, sweetheart, he didn't know quite what was in his head right now either. Perhaps they could ask Mikael? He always seemed to know.

"He's half dead already. Please Klaus! The Other Side is falling apart, who knows what will happen to him over there." Davina pleaded.

And with that came the second blow of the night. Spirits of the dead on the Other Side were getting sucked away into nothingness. The universe wasn't satisfied with taking Caroline from him. It had to erase her entire existence from this earth as well.

Damn it all to hell.

The sickly vampire, who was laid out on the table, suddenly seized back to consciousness, coughing up blood everywhere. Hybrid bites were a nasty business. At another other time, Klaus would have probably reveled a bit Josh's agony, but he couldn't imagine a time he'd revel in anything ever again. Not anymore.

Josh lifted his head, eyes barely staying open. "Do you have a death wish or something?" He mumbled, staring off to his left. "He's killed people for calling him that." *

"Josh?" Davina grabbed his face, trying to get him to focus. "Josh, talk to me."

"No use, love. The venom is making him hallucinate. You'll only get nonsense out of him now."

Josh chuckled and raised himself up on his elbows briefly before falling back down. "She's funny, we should keep her."* He chokes out, pointing at that same dark corner.

Davina looked at the empty corner and then back at her friend. "Josh… do you see someone?" She waited for him to nod weakly and then helped him through another coughing fit. "It could be another ghost," she suggested, turning to Klaus. "If the Other Side is falling apart as quickly as you say, then even the dying might be able to communicate with the dead."

"Lovely," Klaus answered, "But pointless to me." He turned to leave, thinking he'd rather be left to mourn alone. There was an entire town just waiting to be slaughtered out there. Either that or a bar somewhere to drink dry. Which option would be a better send off to the girl who never really lived?

"Dude, she says wait." Josh called out. Klaus sighed in annoyance. He was two seconds away from ripping the boy's heart out and ending his suffering once and for all. "I can't say that," Josh was speaking to the corner again, "He'll take my head off. Literally."*

"Tell your Casper to bugger off, I have no interest in ghostly drama." He growled.

Josh took in a rattling breath, "She says she's only here because you're thinking about her." Klaus narrowed his eyes at that. "And then she called you a hybrid douche. Her words not mine, I swear."

The flicker of hope that sparked in his chest was almost too easy to push down. It couldn't be. He couldn't be unlucky enough to have her presence right there with him and not get to touch her. To see her. The world couldn't be that cruel.

Regardless, the name slipped past his lips anyways, "Caroline?"

"Is that your name?" Josh asked his ghost. "It's pretty. You're pretty." The vampire's head lolled back, and he nearly lost consciousness.

Klaus flashed forward, grabbing his chin. "Come on, Joshua. I'm afraid I've found a use for you after all, stay with me now." A few rough slaps of the cheeks later and Josh was blinking back awake. "Caroline? You still here, sweetheart?"

"She's still here," Josh confirmed. "But she's asking you to stop obsessing over her so she can go back home."

"Typical," Klaus laughed, hoping it didn't sound too choked up. "Spurning my advances even after you're…" There was no way he was completing that sentence. Saying it out loud made it real. It meant that even if she was here, she wasn't really here. And she certainly wasn't staying.

"Are you gunna cry?" Davina asked, tactless until the end. He made sure to glare especially hard at the girl. Josh's chuckling distracted him again though, and he was desperate enough for news on Caroline that he forgave the witch's little snub. For now.

"What's she saying?" Klaus demanded.

"Nothing."* Josh answered too quickly, which meant it was probably very unflattering. "But there's a plan with that Bonnie girl. They're working on bringing people back from the Other Side. Some guy named Enzo?"

"Never met him." Klaus droned. "Is this going to work, Caroline?"

There were a few silent moments that stood between his question and Josh delivering her answer but she seemed optimistic. A spell, a few witches, and a minor explosion were apparently all the ingredients required to bring the woman he loved back to this world. He would take what he could get.

"Very well, love. Off you go. Back to that doomed town, and do remember to give me a call if you succeed." Klaus felt a bit stupid smiling at the empty space that Caroline occupied, but he did it anyway. He wanted her to see the hope in his eyes. The determination to get her back.

"Yeah, she's still standing there." Josh interjected awkwardly. "She says stop thinking about her, it's the only way she's going to be able to leave."

Klaus rolled his eyes, "Well that's a bit difficult. You know you're always on my mind."

Davina made a gagging noise behind him, which he disregarded.

"Well here's something to get your mind off it," Josh suggested. "Caroline says your psycho dad knows about the spell too. You can bet he's got a witch or two down here working on it."

That certainly did put a damper on things. Though Klaus was a little surprised to find that he didn't care much about Mikael's return if it mean Caroline lived as well. Strange, how the prospect of the dead returning had been agonizing only an hour, and now it filled him with hope. He'd fight Mikael for another ten thousand years if it meant he had Caroline by his side. It did present a very real issue though. If Mikael could get himself resurrected before the moonlight stones were enchanted, then Klaus and Elijah would be right back where they had been only a few years ago. On the run from their father and terrified for their lives. Pushing aside his more sentimental notions, Klaus tried to focus on that fear and on Mikael.

"Duty calls then. I _will_ see you later, Caroline."

"She's gone," Josh told him a moment later. "But she said thank you before she left. Oh, and she kindly and respectfully requested that you feed me your blood."

"Kindly and respectfully, hmm?" Klaus asked doubtfully.

"Something about hybrid bites hurting like a bitch might have been thrown in too, but I think that was mostly just an attempt at a guilt trip."

It was the wit more than anything that saved Josh's life that night. Klaus had to respect a man who could joke about life and death when he was hovering on the latter's doorstep.

* * *

_Fight those demons day in and day out_

* * *

**Short and sweet, but there you go. I'm considering making this a two-parter where Klaus follows up on Caroline's status, but I'm waiting until after the TO finale to see where the hell that even goes. **

**And in case you were wondering, here are Caroline's lines.**

_***God you are such a drama queen, can we pull it together please?**_

_***Like you would know anything about werewolf venom hallucinations. You practically plugged your ears and hummed when I was going cuckoo for cocoa puffs on Elena's couch last year.**_

_***I don't have time to hang around haunting his ass all night while he cries into his whiskey. Tell him to man up and get over it.**_

_***He's totally gunna cry. I know, I know, the prospect of a world without Caroline Forbes is too tragic for even your grinch sized heart to fathom. **_


End file.
